Here is the entire game.
This was an improbable victory in an otherwise forgettable season. (I remember watching this game live with Noah at Smith’s in Park Slope.) Also fun to see the Cutler-Marshall connection while it was still in Denver.
Hester’s third quarter should be enough to get him into the Hall of Fame.
What matters.
1-1.
What doesn’t.
Everything else.
— DaBearsBlog (@dabearsblog) September 16, 2019
One of the most bizarre and emotionally confusing finishes to a football game in recent memory. The defense was gassed. The offense was useless. Yet here the Chicago Bears stand, 1-1, with their season right in front of them. Rapid fire…
One of the best dogs in the country. Biker Jim’s. Denver.
I always like the Chicago Bears.
And I have never had this strong a belief in the Chicago Bears defense.
A cat has been installed as the “lord” of an ancient castle in western Japan, drawing tourists and helping the area’s recovery from a deadly rain disaster last year. The cat is named Sanjuro in tribute to Tani Sanjuro, a samurai warrior in the Edo period pic.twitter.com/ZhzGBD5W4L
— 41 Strange (@41Strange) September 9, 2019
The moment is here for Matt Nagy and Mitch Trubisky.
This week.
Sunday.
In Denver.
1-1.
Don’t fuck around. Win.
Opening night was an offensive debacle. The coach was overwhelmed. The quarterback was over-matched. They were not ready to call or perform in a football game, respectively, period.
But this ain’t the 3 AM show in the lounge. This is ain’t the place to work on your material. This is the showroom and the gents are in top hats and tails. The Bears don’t have the luxury of time to figure things out.
They are in one of the best divisions in football.
They have the best defense in the league.
The moment is here.
Sunday.
In Denver.
This offense doesn’t have to be great to keep the 2019 vintage of the Chicago Bears on the league’s top shelf. It has to be serviceable, at least for now. It has to help this team stack wins until the season gets serious in November.
And doing that falls onto the shoulders of two men. Nagy. Trubisky.
Hey Matt, wake up. David Montgomery is a horse. Ride him. The quarterback is still inexperienced. Get him some quick, easy throws. You don’t get credit for the other side of the ball because it wasn’t built by you and it isn’t coached by you. Yours is the offense. Lead them.
Hey Mitch, enough. Enough with the silly throws into holiday weekend traffic. Enough with not calling your own number and getting easy first downs with your legs. Enough with making rookie mistakes because this is your third year in the league, second year in the system, and a few more rookie mistakes are going to lead to your rookie contract being your last contract in the league.
Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images (Edited)
The question I’ve been asked most since getting to Chicago: “Do you think Trubisky will be a positive when looking for a new coach?” My answer each time has been a definitive yes because I truly believe it will.
But I decided that, instead of leaning on my gut, to poll my two pals in the league on the question, factoring in all of the potentially-available gigs and their quarterback situation. I’ve grouped the teams into categories.
(I’ll be referring to my friends as AFC GUY & NFC GUY.)
They get their own category because think of the waters GM Chris Ballard has to navigate. When he’s looking to hire a coach in January he may not be able to tell the candidates whether Andrew Luck, their franchise quarterback, will require an additional surgery sidelining him six months or more. He won’t be able to tell the candidates if they have a franchise quarterback in 2018 or not.
NFC GUY: “Chris is going to have to sell that job. And every potential coach will want to know if they’re considering drafting a quarterback early.”
These are two jobs that, should they come open, will come open with a quarterback in-place. But…do you want them?
In no particular order…
